Marigolds and Catnip
by Darkford
Summary: When Master Fu chooses Chloe Bourgeois for the Ladybug miraculous, he makes the second biggest mistake of his life. - Based heavily on the Scarlet Lady AU. Semi-chronological series rewrite, following the misadventures of Chat Noir, Scarlet Lady, and (eventually) Marigold, the heroes of Paris. (Next: Pharaoh 2) Cover art by kenechi-nor on tumblr!
1. Origins 1

**ORIGINS**

 _Part 1  
_

* * *

The day began _mostly_ like any other.

Adrien woke up sharply at 6:00 and began his morning routine. However, unlike the usual grumble of his thoughts, today, he had a plan. He was going to give his watchers the slip and attend school, even if it was just for a day. He needed that freedom desperately, and he was finally done sitting around and waiting for his father to notice! If this was what it took, he'd do it!

Letting out a tired sigh, he went downstairs from his grandiose room to the dining hall. It was, as usual, quite empty; several tall windows let in the early morning light, and up above the right-hand wall were several delicate paintings of members of the Agreste family. Adrien took a moment to mentally greet his mother's smiling portrait, then turned to the lonely breakfast left on the table. He was fairly certain that the Agreste family - reduced to two since his mother had vanished - did not need a table big enough for twenty, but then again, he didn't think they needed a mansion, either.

Nathalie, promptly at 6:30, arrived to inform him of his schedule. He listened with half an ear, rather apathetic about the majority of it, and uninspired by the rest. His mind was racing far too quickly with thoughts of his daring plan to even begin to care.

At 7:00, the car was waiting outside for him, and he sent the Gorilla a fond smile before sliding in. He'd need transportation, but only so far; if he asked to stop, he hoped he'd have enough time to sneak out of the car and make a dash for the school. From there, all he had to do was blend in. He felt a little bad deceiving Nathalie and the Gorilla about the whole mess, but he felt like today was going to be entirely worth it.

* * *

For Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the day began when the sun shone through her skylight onto her face, declaring that she needed to get dressed and get to school within the next fifteen minutes.

"AHH! I'M GOING TO BE LATE!"

Downstairs, Marinette's mother Sabine chuckled good-naturedly, already shuffling a croissant and a cup of tea over to the counter. Only a few minutes later, Marinette nearly toppled down the stairs, spinning wildly on a heel and stammering out a rushed goodbye, her hand snatching the croissant and tea from the table in the same breath that she thanked her mother for it. Before Sabine could so much as wave goodbye, her daughter was out the door and running down the street.

Shaking her head, she moved on to baking some more macarons.

* * *

Chloe did not want to go back to school.

It was a disappointing fact of life that she had to spend time at school, otherwise people would judge her and her daddy. Twirling in her room as she selected some good clothes, she finally settled on a little yellow number which showed off the gold of her hair. Her plan was to sit next to Sabrina and behind Adrien - she knew Sabrina would follow her obediently wherever she went, so the only complication was whether her sweet Adrikins managed to make it.

Of course, she had no doubt that Adrien would manage it. Her sweetheart was surprisingly resourceful when he put his pretty little head to it, so she wasn't concerned in the slightest. Checking her vanity one last time, she concluded she looked perfect and stepped out of her beautiful room to head for her driver's car.

Francois-Dupont was as depressingly plebian as ever, unfortunately, but her eye turned to see her Adrikins helping up an old man. She resisted the urge to tell him to get away from creepy old men and instead offered him her most beautiful smile as he raced for the steps where she stood.

"I'll see you inside, Adrikins," she said sweetly, turning and quickly walking away. She knew her Adrien would want a front seat spot, so she just needed to select one of the seats behind the front row and he would automatically follow along.

Suddenly, a girl whipped past her at incredible speed, almost knocking her over. Chloe glared at the familiar bobbing pigtails which raced away and flew into the classroom; no doubt, Marinette was out to destroy her chances with Adrien!

Determined, she leaped to her feet and stormed after her. Upon entering the classroom, she noticed that Marinette had just sat down beside her best friend Sabrina, laying her mug on the table and putting down a croissant.

Chloe wasted no time. She stomped up to the second row where Marinette had sat, and slammed a hand on the table. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she hissed. "Just _what_ do you think you're doing in _my_ seat?"

Marinette stared up at her with a crinkle in her forehead, sniffing at her. "Seats haven't even been chosen yet," she replied, batting her eyes at Chloe as if it might convince her she was innocent.

"Move over there," Chloe waved her away, but the bratty girl didn't move at all. "Go on! Shoo!"

"Oi," a new voice called from the front row. "Let her be. There aren't any pre-assigned seats."

"And what would you know, new girl?" Chloe replied sharply. "Don't bother defending Lame-inette if you want to survive around here."

the redhead's eyes narrowed, and the girl stood up, storming over, getting right in her face with a disgusting glare. "How about _you_ move." she threatened.

"How _dare_ you! Do you even know who I am?" Chloe asked incredulously. "My father is the Mayor! YOU sit next to her if you're so determined to defend Lame-inette!" Glaring at her one last time, the girl grabbed Marinette's arm and dragged her away. Marinette barely had the chance to grab her food before she was plopped down into the seat next to the new girl, falling over herself several times.

Chloe basked in her triumph over the vapid girl and the do-gooder by sitting elegantly in her acquired seat. Now, all she had to do was wait.

* * *

"Chillax, girl," Alya reassured Marinette, sitting her down beside her. "Don't let that bully get to you."

"Thanks," Marinette murmured into her tea, glancing to the unknown with a smile. "I wish I could handle Chloe like you just did."

"You mean like Majestia does?" Alya quickly brought up the superhero's picture on her phone. "I live and _breathe_ this comic, girl! It's got so many great messages." She paused. "You should stand up to her, don't let her drag you down."

"That's easier said than done," Marinette sighed. "She's been trying to make me miserable for years."

"Well now _I'm_ here," Alya patted her new friend on the back. "You and me, girl, we can take her on."

Marinette shot her a smile. Reaching for her food, she split it in half. "Croissant?" She offered.

Alya accepted with a smile.

* * *

A/N:

Welcome to Marigolds and Catnip! I was really inspired by the Scarlet Lady AU which has been floating around the community as of late, so I decided to write a bit of an 'alternate series' starring the concepts seen from the artists and users who inspired me most.

I'll cover my goals in more detail after I finish writing up Origins (split into 3 parts!); I want to finish off the origin story before I jump into writing the rest of the series, however. It should give me a point from which to judge how I'll divide chapters.

While I'd love to link directly to them, from what I recall FFN eliminates links, so instead I'll write out the usernames of some of the people on tumblr who inspired me. I highly advise you visit their pages or search up the 'scarlet lady au' tag on tumblr.

thescuttlebugg  was, as I can tell, the originator of the scarlet lady AU concept.

zoe-oneesama is currently among the most active in the tag, writing out their headcanons and occasionally doing art for the AU. A _ton_ of the ideas you'll see here are sourced from zoe's concepts and ideas.

kenechi-nor is an incredible artist who inspired some of the key concepts in this particular write-up of the AU, in particular Marigold's costume! They're an amazing artist with a cute, disney-like style who's been doing quite a lot of artwork of Marigold and others from the AU.

Those are all I can think of off the top of my head, but if I ever dig for inspiration again, I'll be sure to add them to the list!


	2. Origins 2

**ORIGINS**

 _Part 2_

* * *

Adrien got five steps before he'd been blocked by the Gorilla and Nathalie.

Slumped over his bed, Adrien flicked through TV channels, sulkily trying to enjoy the fifty minutes of freedom he'd bought himself until his next appointment, as he'd completely missed his basketball practice. He flipped over several times as he clicked the buttons on his remote, listening apathetically to each one.

" _Traffic on Rue De Champlain-"_ Click.

" _But Bernardo, I LOVE you! How could you-"_ Click.

" _Welcome to episode 86 of Spiiiiin to Wiiii-"_ Click.

" _A supervillain is attacking downtown Paris in a-"_ Click.

" _Naruto will be right back after this short commercial br-"_ Click.

Adrien paused.

Click. " _-surprise attack. The villain appears to be calling himself Stoneheart..."_

Adrien rose to his feet in a heartbeat. "A supervillain?" He murmured, peering at the screen. Everything seemed legit, however; the channel was _definitely_ the news channel and not the imports channel, so it wasn't anime or even some crappy live-action remake, either.

Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to a black box on his table, engraved with red chinese characters. He stared at it in an attempt to decipher it as he moved forward to take off the lid.

A bright green light flooded his vision.

* * *

Chloe stared avidly at the television screen, delicate feet tucked up to the cushy sofa as she stared at the rocky supervillain, Stoneheart. Someone should deal with him! What were the police even doing, _helping him?_

When she turned away in disgust from the incompetency on the screen, she noticed an elegant hexagonal box on her vanity which she hadn't seen before. Trotting over, she opened it, and found two rather tacky earrings.

"Who would put these things in such a nice box?" Chloe wrinkled her nose. Unfortunately, the rest of her critique was cut off by a flash of brilliant red.

Suddenly, a large red _bug_ was floating in front of her.

Chloe inhaled, but the red... THING put two strange arms over her mouth to shush her. _How DARE she!_

* * *

Tikki stared at her chosen in shock.

She was... Tikki hated to admit this, of any of her chosen - _superficial._ Blonde, well dressed, caked in makeup which seemed to try and change her entire complexion - it wasn't even the fanciful detail of professional makeup or the personalized taste of the fun kind of makeup, but the deep-running cover of an insecure girl.

 _"Alright, Tikki,"_ she thought to herself. " _Time for a pep talk."_

* * *

Stoneheart turned around when he felt a baton slam into his back. Whipping around, his eyes locked onto a black-clad boy.

" _That, Stoneheart, is Chat Noir,"_ The voice in his head whispered. " _Take the miraculous from him, and you will have the power to win Mylene and destroy Kim."_

The purple presence vanished, and Stoneheart slammed his fists together in preparation.

"Why the long face? Cat got your tongue?" The infuriating feline asked, twirling his tail. Shifting his stance, he aimed his baton and raced forward, slamming it into Stoneheart's face again.

Stoneheart shook it off, growled, and threw his fist forwards, grabbing the cat in his free hand. Chat Noir laughed nervously.

"Seems I'm between a rock and a hard place," he quipped, shifting. "Any chance you'll let go?"

"Give me the miraculous," Stoneheart demanded.

"Sorry, rockhead, no-can-do," Chat replied, squirming out of Stoneheart's grip and streaking away to build distance. "I have a few stones to skip!"

Letting out a howl, Stoneheart began his pursuit.

* * *

Chloe stared at herself in the mirror, remembering the strange sprite's words.

 _Remember, Chloe, it's Spots On to summon me and become Ladybug! You're the chosen one, the only girl capable of purifying the akuma and curing Stoneheart! Just go in there, it'll be natural!_

She looked... incredible. Sharp, sleek, a _superhero._ She flexed her leg, testing her suit - it was red, with polka-dots, a slightly unflattering colour for her hair, but she would make do. Two red ribbons curled from her hair, and there was a mask over her face, leaving her eyes free and her long lashes standing out expressively. Fortunately, she had a lipstick and blush which matched the look, and the burgundy of her high-heeled boots, belt and sleeves fit very well.

"Ooh! There's a mirror in this yoyo thing? I like it!"

Yep, being a superhero was going to be _wonderful._

* * *

Marinette was watching the distant action from her balcony when she heard the doorbell ring.

Racing downstairs past her mother and father - both engrossed in the action on TV - she flung open the door to find Mylene. The sweet-hearted girl looked terribly nervous as she shifted from foot to foot, occasionally casting a glance in the distance.

"Marinette," she began nervously. "I need help. I- Ivan's gone missing since Stoneheart appeared and I-I don't know wh-hat to do!"

Marinette sent a worried gaze towards Stoneheart, then back to her friend. She was worried, too; being so close to the action was shaking her nerves like crazy.

 _But your friend needs you,_ a stray voice called, somewhere far away but rising to the surface. _You need to help them. Go on!_

She took a deep breath. "Let's go look for him closer to the action," She decided, grabbing Mylene's hand to stall her terrified reaction. "come on, we'll be safer together. Maman, Papa, I'll be right back!" She called back, carefully ignoring their response as she leaped out the front door and shut it tightly behind her. Glancing around until she locked back onto the giant stone golem in the distance, she dragged Mylene away through the aromatic streets of Paris, gaze locked on the brawl not too far away.

* * *

Thankfully, it seemed that when a supervillain appeared, people were smart enough to run away, leaving the path clear for Marinette and Mylene.

"Marinette are you _sure_ this is going to work?!" Mylene cried, glancing around as the sound of choppers drowned out the rest of the noise. A sudden roar distracted them, and the two girls folded against the walls of a nearby shop as they scanned the horizon.

"Over there," Marinette pointed with her free hand, "Stoneheart's getting close. Was he that big earlier?" The supervillain roared again, arm flicking around and slamming into the ground with a loud rumble which shook the ground below them. Mylene shook her head frantically. " _Merde_! Mylene, we need to get closer!"

Mylene gritted her teeth, but reluctantly followed over Marinette, gripping her hand tightly. If Marinette could brave superpowers, so could she!

* * *

 _"Alright, Plagg, what next?_ " Adrien thought, hopping from foot to foot as he dodged thrown rocks and avoided violent swings. He was feeling high on life, though he'd had to avoid attacks a few times and had actually gotten hit once or twice. He was aching, but he wasn't out of the battle yet; he just needed to defeat the villain!

" _Well, kid, he's going to have something you need to destroy,"_ Plagg explained to him. " _NOT with your superpowers, though. Then your counterpart, Ladybug, will be able to grab the akuma making this guy evil and purify it, using that energy to reverse the damage with an ability called_ _Miraculous Ladybug."_ Adrien hopped over a swing, flinging out his baton to boost him up into the nosebleeds, away from Stoneheart's reach. " _It's kind of weird that she isn't here yet, actually. I've never known a Ladybug to be especially tardy, unless..."_

"Yoo-hoo! Superhero guy!" Adrien turned swiftly, immediately catching sight of a girl in a bright red suit. She flicked away her blonde hair. "What's the holdup? Why haven't you beaten him up yet?"

Adrien froze long enough to get smacked in the face in a direct hit.

Groaning, he pulled himself up to his feet. "Shut up!" he called back defensively. "I'm trying here, and the name's Chat Noir, not 'superhero guy'!" He yelped as Stoneheart reached for his tail, which he pulled quickly out of the way before he launched back up to his feet. "Speaking of, superhero girl, I could use some backup here!"

"Backup?" She turned up her nose. "No, you can handle it."

Adrien gaped, then got hit in the face for the second time that day.

The sudden pain seemed to throw Plagg into action. _"What the he- erm, heck?!"_ He yelled into Adrien's mind. " _That chick's a bi- erm, uh, bother! What does she think she's DOING? Cosplaying?!"_

"You can say that again," Adrien muttered, launching himself up again. He put on his best puppy eyes once he was certain Stoneheart wouldn't be getting to him. "C'mon, _please?_ I can't do this without you," he requested as endearingly as he could.

"Well, why not?" the girl demanded, putting down a high-heeled foot. "You're the sidekick, I suppose, but you should still be able to handle one little Akuma, _right_?"

Adrien tried not to hiss at her. It was surprisingly hard - maybe it was the cat instincts showing?

" _Nah, kid, she's just a catty bi- er, girl,"_ he advised. " _Don't bother! Just aim to find out what's giving Stoneheart his powers!"_

Adrien turned back to the battle and jumped away just in time for Stoneheart to miss him by an inch. Breathing hard, he began to run at breakneck speed for the opposite end of the field, Baton held at the ready to defend himself.

" _This isn't what I imagined when I was told I could be a superhero,"_ Adrien admitted.

" _Tell me about it,"_ Plagg agreed sympathetically.

* * *

The two girls slowed down as they passed through the tunnel leading into the stadium. Somewhere in the distant greens they could hear the stomping of Stoneheart, and Mylene shuddered as a stone foot slammed down then rose again, leaving a stark imprint in the ground.

"Are we r-rea-l-ly goi-ing in ther-re?" Mylene stuttered, eyes blown wide.

Marinette nodded seriously. "Yes!" She noticed the look on Mylene's face and added, "Well, if you need to run, just say so and I'll distract whatever's after us so you can get away. But I'd feel better with you here."

Mylene seemed to gather herself at that sentence, firming her stance. "Al-alright," she agreed, stepping forward. "What do we do?"

Marinette opened her mouth to suggest a plan when she heard a cry and a loud _crrrrack_ up ahead. In a flash, she was running again, racing into the stadium without a second thought.

Marinette slid to a stop in front of Stoneheart, watching him warily. The rocky titan was entirely focused on the black-clad hero, who was leaping about as if his life depended on it - though that didn't stop him from spotting her.

"Get out of here!" He called seriously, flinging himself backwards to dodge another swipe made by the villain. "It's dangerous!"

"I think I can see that, thanks!" Marinette called back. Mylene shuffled forward, eyes scanning the scene, and yelped as Stoneheart turned around on shuffling feet, glowing yellow eyes staring down at them both.

Marinette stared at him for a moment. "Weird," she murmured, even as she pushed Mylene back with her to get out of range of a long swipe with the villain's left hand. "Why's he gripping his right arm so tightly?"

Mylene peered forward, stance showing she was ready to duck behind Marinette at any moment. "Th-a-at is wei-ird," she stammered in agreement.

"Right," Marinette looked around briefly, then noticed the hero, still dodging wildly. "Hey!" She called. "He's got something in his right hand!"

* * *

"Right hand?" Adrien murmured. At second glance, the girl was right - Stoneheart had his right hand held tightly shut.

 _"That must be where the akuma's hiding, kid! Go and trip him over, see if you can pry his hand open!"_ Plagg advised. Nodding in agreement, Adrien set about his new plan.

Leading Stoneheart away with a series of taunts, he stepped quickly up the stadium's seats, leaving the akuma in the dust. Once he was far enough away, he spun around and extended his claws.

" _Remember, kid! Just say 'Cataclysm!' I'll handle the rest!"_ Plagg reminded him.

"Got it." Adrien aimed. "CATACLYSM!"

His claws raked along the stands, and the whole set came free as a series of black cracks formed in the iron seats. They slid down and slammed into Stoneheart, and the behemoth stumbled and fell, hands splaying out to catch his fall.

" _There's your opportunity, kid!"_ Plagg called, and Adrien didn't hesitate to bound forward on all fours towards the akuma's hand. His sharp eyes spotted a blackened rock, and he leaped for it, clawed hands settling around it.

"Now what?" Adrien panted, as his ring beeped.

" _Now crush that thing and keep track of the Akuma until Ladybug can purify it!"_ Plagg replied. Adrien nodded, and, laying the rock down, he slammed a steel-toed boot into the aggravating object. A black butterfly sped out of it as the rock crumbled beneath his foot, clearly trying to escape. In an instant, the purple corruption building Stoneheart fell away, dropping a dazed and confused Ivan on the ground.

"Ivan!" Mylene yelled, breaking away from her friend. She raced past the black butterfly and threw herself at the boy, grabbing him in a firm hug.

Adrien's eyes followed the akuma cautiously. He kept a careful eye on it until a red yoyo zipped past his face, grabbing the butterfly straight out of the air. His eyes chased the yoyo's path back to the annoying girl, Ladybug, where the yoyo snapped shut and a bright light bloomed momentarily within.

"Why didn't you help at all, superhero girl?" He asked, watching her carefully. The yoyo opened up like the wings of a ladybug, and a small white butterfly flew away from them both. The girl closed it again with an audible snap, and her watery blue eyes glared at him.

"Why didn't you get him faster? I have things to do!" she insisted, gesturing around. "Now I have to use my ability, see?" She flung her yoyo. "Miraculous Ladybug!" And, quite suddenly, a swarm of the little beetles burst from her yoyo, whirling around and leaving the world untouched in their wake. "And just so you know, sidekick, the name's _Scarlet Lady._ " Giving him one last scathing look, she turned on her burgundy heels and stormed off.

"Who does she think she is?" Adrien muttered, as his ring blinked frantically at him.

" _I don't know, kid,"_ Plagg replied, sounding worried in stark contrast to his original attitude. " _But I'm not feeling so great about this all of a sudden."_

* * *

A/N:

Part 2 done! Just one left to go.

As mentioned last chapter, a _lot_ of the inspiration for this is drawn from the scarlet lady AU created by thescuttlebugg and expanded/drawn by zoe-oneesama and kenechi-nor. All three can be found on tumblr, or you can find out more about the AU by searching for the tag 'scarlet lady au' on tumblr.

This is by far the longest of the parts so far, the final part of origins included. I'm not quite sure what to do for the next episode, so you're more than free to suggest which - at the moment I'm considering The Pharaoh, Stormy Weather, or perhaps another early episode...


	3. Origins 3

**ORIGINS**

 _Part 3_

* * *

The next morning, Adrien woke to a bone-deep ache and a feeling of intense dissatisfaction.

 _Go to school? Failed._

 _Become a fun-loving superhero? Also failed._

"Adrien? You have five minutes to be ready for your next appointment."

 _Get up on time? Mega failed._

Plagg shot him a sympathetic look and yawned, flying into his bag.

 _At least I made a friend,_ Adrien decided, trying to be positive about the whole experience.

He wasn't looking forward to today.

* * *

Mme. Bustier had reassigned Chloe's seat after yesterday, those annoying girls taking her spot behind what she had hoped would be Adrien's seat, but she couldn't even find it in herself to get mad as the classroom chatter was flung back and forth. For one, nobody was saying a word against her for once. For another...

"Who could she be?"

"Where'd she come from?"

"She's so cool!"

"Did you _see_ her makeup?"

"Who is Scarlet Lady?"

Of course, Tikki had made it plenty clear she couldn't reveal her identity or she'd lose her powers _forever and ever._ It was a real bummer, but she could still soak up the peripheral praise, so it was still a win in her books. And, even more thankfully, her miraculous earrings would turn black when inactive, meaning they wouldn't look cheap and they'd match with her clothes!

Yep, it was a perfect start to a day, and only her darling Adrikins could _possibly_ make it better.

* * *

Adrien stared dispassionately out the window, his fingers occasionally hiding in his bag to let him gently stroke his Kwami. Plagg was the _only_ good thing about today.

The limo stopped, and Adrien sighed quietly. "Thanks for the ride, Gorilla," he called, opening the door. "See you later." He stepped outside and looked up.

Adrien blinked. "Uh, Gorilla?" He heard an amused grunt. "You just dropped me off at... school..." He whipped around.

"Nathalie rearranged your schedule," the Gorilla offered as an answer.

Adrien couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Thank you! Ah, and thank Nathalie for me to! I'll thank her later but also thank her now!" He took a deep breath. "See you! And thanks again!" The Gorilla merely nodded and drove off, leaving Adrien to race towards the front doors.

He was still exhausted, so the running only lasted until he was inside, slowing down to a stop and gasping in breath after breath. He suddenly realized he still ached all over from the day before; his brief joy at being allowed to attend school had overcome him to the point he'd forgotten why he had no energy at all.

"You okay there, dude?" A hand fell on his back, but didn't grip. "You're not looking too great."

"Long night," Adrien returned cautiously, pulling himself back up. The boy who'd stopped him looked almost as tired as he was, and he could see some kind of kinship in him already. He had a pair of headphones around his neck, and a pair of black glasses secured on his nose. "but I'm fine, thank you for checking on me."

The guy smiled. "No problem, man. The name's Nino. Who're you?"

"Ah, I'm Adrien," he introduced himself quickly. A million thoughts passed in a second - _is this how you make friends? What do I say? Should I be adding 'dude' or 'man' at the end of my sentences? -_ but Nino finished the next step before he could overthink it.

"Which class are you in? I haven't seen you around before." Nino said. There was... nothing unkind or accusing about it, actually, which was rather relieving.

"Mme. Bustier's class," Adrien replied, recalling the name of the teacher who he'd emailed while setting this whole 'public school' fiasco up. Nino's face lit up, and suddenly he didn't seem tired at all.

"No way, man, me too! Follow me, there's a spare seat next to mine there." Adrien found himself following instinctively, the easygoing Nino babbling on the way. It was easy to listen to, and before he even thought about it, they were already at the classroom's doors.

The door slid open easily to admit them into the room. The class was a bit smaller he was expecting, but it was also louder - everyone was talking at once, and Adrien's mood immediately soured when he realized what it was about.

Nino didn't seem to notice, thankfully, patting the seat in the front row next to his. Adrien slid thankfully into the bench, letting his bag drop gently onto the chaise beside him. He was moving so much when he wasn't in a limo that he was relieved there was nothing more to do. He listened with half an ear as Nino talked, letting his anxiety about the whole thing slowly uncurl. Hopefully, missing that disastrous first day wouldn't ruin the whole thing.

Then, just as his eyes were drooping, Adrien heard a familiar voice.

"Adrikins!"

He resisted the urge to do a full body groan. "Chloe," he ground out, trying not to sound like a downer.

"Oh, I'm _so_ happy you made it today!" Chloe _leaped_ for him. "How have you been? We should go on another shopping date-"

Adrien gave up trying to be nice. He _had_ to deal with Scarlet Lady, but he was _not_ going to let _anyone else_ take advantage of him now. He was sick and tired of being dragged around. One arm out, he pushed her gently but firmly away. "Not. Today." He growled. "I'm tired, Chloe, so leave me be."

Nino's side of the bench creaked as he leaned forward to notice Chloe's disgruntled expression, but oddly for her, it didn't last long. "Oh well, when you're in a better mood," she decided, waving it off. "Enough of niceties. Did you hear about the new superheroes?! Don't you think Scarlet Lady is totally _amazing?!_ "

"No."

It just slipped out, really, it did. But Chloe froze and stopped talking altogether, which was a good thing in his books. Slumping back into his seat, Adrien turned to Nino, who was still glancing between them.

"Childhood 'friend'," Adrien offered quietly, once he was sure Chloe had stopped listening. "let's just say I know _exactly_ why everyone's giving her the evil eye, and if our parents didn't know each other, I would be too." He added bitterly.

He'd always held out hope that maybe Chloe could change, but then again... if even a girl selected by a primordial power like the miraculous could be as callous and utterly _selfish_ as Scarlet Lady, then he had little hope for Chloe.

"You've got my sympathy, man. I can't imagine what growing up with her would have been like." Nino said agreeably, patting him on the shoulder. Adrien tried not to flinch as Nino hit a bruise. "Well, from now on, you've got me to be your pal. I've got your back."

Adrien turned to Nino and finally managed to pull a genuine smile. "Thanks, Nino," he replied, feeling just a tiny bit lighter. "I appreciate it."

"Hey," Nino shot his own smile back, "what're friends for?"

Five minutes later, Adrien was bent over the desk resting his head in the way he'd seen the guy a few rows back do. Though his back protested a bit, it was actually quite relaxing, and blocked out the lights enough that he could actually shut his eyes for a bit. He could use every moment of rejuvenation he could get.

"Yo, Mari!" Nino called, waking Adrien up from his cat-nap. He turned his eyes up through his fingers to see a petite girl wearing a cute, flowered shirt combined with a fashionable vest to cover her arms. Her jeans were a soft pink, as was her backpack. He'd only just gotten to her face when he realized she was looking at him.

He lifted his head and tried to look awake, pulling a hand anxiously through his hair.

"Are you alright?" She asked, deep blue eyes blinking slowly. She looked like she didn't have a mean bone in her body. "You look very tired."

Adrien nodded wordlessly, still a bit stuck for what to say. "Long night," he offered, as a repeat of what he'd told Nino.

She smiled sympathetically, and he noticed she had something in her arms only moments before she retrieved something from it. "Here, I brought these to share, so you're free to have one." Before he knew what he was accepting, she'd pressed a macaron into his hand.

"Ahh," he blinked up at her hopelessly for a moment. What did you even say in a situation like this? "Thank you..."

"You're welcome!" She smiled, a sweet grin which dimpled her cheeks. With that, she stepped around him, and a moment later he realized she was sitting behind him.

Adrien stared at the macaron in his hand. After a moment he gave up considering what he should do and just ate it.

 _Bliss._

It was subtly sweet and soft but not undercooked, and the filling was a delicate espresso flavour. He wanted to savour it forever. Had he really been eating cheese, vegetables, and the token bread up to this point? How had he survived without this? It perked him up immediately, like he could take on the world as long as he had a bite of it to eat, and he regretted popping the whole thing into his mouth at once.

"Liked it?" The girl behind him guessed, and he gulped, nodding. Turning to face her, he blinked as her hand held out another macaron. "Go on," she insisted. "You could use the energy, so I'll skip mine."

He took it wordlessly, trying to remember how this throat worked. Oh. Right. "Thank you. So much," he added almost as an afterthought, eyes riveted on the rare treat. Two! From the same girl! And she'd even skipped her own to give it to him!

 _There really is kindness on this accursed planet!_ He thought, half gleefully, half cynically, as he bit a careful nibble off his second macaron. It was just as good, if not better, than the first.

"Learned the wonders of Marinette's baking, huh?" Nino asked knowingly. "She does this every time something big happens. Start of school, Christmas, Career day, that sort of thing. Nobody can pass up on them."

"It would be blasphemous to," Adrien agreed fervently, hoping he was being quiet enough that Marinette didn't hear.

He mourned that the macaron didn't last him through to lunch. He'd have to find a way to get more sometime.

* * *

Adrien stepped outside and was immediately soaked.

 _Oh._ He thought belatedly of the umbrella he'd stuffed in one of the open lockers. _So that's what I forgot._

Somehow, the sunny day had become absolutely miserable. He considered, hopefully, if this meant his outdoor photoshoot was off. He sure hoped so. That still left him with the predicament of getting home in the rain, however.

With a reluctant sigh, he turned around. However, before he could even step forward, something hit him in the chest, there was a soft, startled gasp, and he opened his eyes to see Marinette stumble back and have a black umbrella - _his umbrella_ \- snap closed over her head.

He couldn't help it. He laughed. He laughed like he hadn't laughed in months, maybe years, cackling deep in his throat until he ran out of breath and tears were streaming down his face, hidden only slightly by the rain. After a bit, she began to laugh too, as she gently pushed it upwards to peek out at him from beneath the black material.

"Oops," she snickered. "Uh, here, you forgot this." Pushing it fully open, she held it out to him, the edges of the umbrella hovering over him and covering him from the rain.

"Ah, I, um, thanks," he murmured, reaching forward reluctantly. He carefully grabbed around the lower handle, but even then his fingers brushed over hers - _soft,_ was the first thing he thought - and she let go slowly, letting it slide into his own hands.

"You're welcome," she smiled, and with a skip in her step went straight into the rain without an umbrella of her own.

When she was out of earshot and the coast was clear, Plagg poked his head out. "She was a nice girl," he offered.

"Plagg, we just met an angel." he replied, a giddy smile slowly flowing over his face.

Then, with a snap, the umbrella folded in on him.

* * *

A/N:

Well, here ends the Origins arc. While I won't spoil anything for those of you not in the loop, you can credit almost all the ideas for this to thescuttlebugg, kenechi-nor and zoe-oneesama on tumblr, the first for the original idea and the second & third for some incredible fanart/concepts which inspired a LOT of this work. Give them the credit they deserve and take a peek at their tumblrs.

I want to preface this by saying that I won't be going beyond season 1 for several reasons*. I'm sticking to season 1, of which I've watched every episode, and this story will end if I ever get to Volpina (or possibly antibug). I do have a rough idea of where key events will happen, so rest assured I have a plan. Finally, while I don't plan on any specifically mature scenes, I've left the ages of the students up to interpretation; while canonically they are in the fourteen to fifteen range, I'd pin them as anywhere between fifteen and eighteen for this story at this point in writing. (can you tell I have no idea how the French high school system works?)

With that monster of an author's note _mostly_ out of the way; I hope you enjoyed the origins retelling, and look forward to future episodes! Next will be either Stormy Weather or Pharaoh. Feel free to share your ideas or headcanons with me.

 _*A lot of characters got added to try and inject drama into the whole thing. I just can't get behind most of the late-addition characters - Lila, Luka, and Kagami in particular feel like an excuse to amp up the drama in the love square, and feel poorly executed from what I've seen. Kagami's design does bother me a bit, and I'm fairly sure I'm not alone on this. Kagami also only had one episode, Riposte. Lila, ever since her introduction, has rubbed me the wrong way. She seems like an attempt to bridge the evils of Chloe and Hawkmoth, but we know so little about Lila - she's never even met Marinette, for heaven's sake! - that she's impossible for me to enjoy. While I have less beef with Luka, I find it irritating that he's essentially being used as a romantic plot device for Marinette, rather than his own character (at least, from what I've read). The only appearance he's officially had so far is in Captain Hardrock, and the only other episode I'm certain he'll appear in is Frozer, where he is again presented as a romantic interest. That's the same number of episodes Lila got, and frankly he leaves me with a similar, if less bitter, feeling - he needs time to grow.  
_

 _I know there are people who like these characters despite that, so I'd rather leave these characters be instead of writing them while hindered by my opinion of them.  
_

* _Secondly to this, I haven't actually watched season 2 myself, as I haven't been able to access it legally. I was able to see MLB's first season by watching it on netflix with a friend, but I don't have that option right now (and I'm not even sure if it's been released). With that in mind, I couldn't justifiably adapt the episodes._


	4. Stormy Weather 1

**STORMY WEATHER**

 _Part 1_

* * *

It was a beautiful, sunny day, straight out of the cover of a tawdry YA romance. The fluff of every angel-white cloud was perfectly coiffed, and the blue of the sky played off the clear water of Paris's scattered fountains like a liquid crystal, the sunlight beaming down at the world as it woke them up at the crack of _flippin'_ dawn.

"Kid, are you sure you aren't emo?"

"I'm not," Adrien huffed, slumping backwards on his pristine white couch, taking in the day with a pout on his face and bags under his eyes from _yet another late night akuma._ "I'm just saying things as they are."

"Yeah," Plagg threw the last piece of camembert into the air and gulped it down, swallowing it whole, " _sarcastically._ If I didn't know that you spent all of last night cursing Scarlet Lady's name-" Adrien growled, which Plagg ignored, "-I'd frankly be quite impressed by your entire lack of agreement with today."

"Yeah, well," Adrien grumbled, "maybe you should be impressed I even _care_ about my extra-curriculars at this point. Oh my god, did Nathalie _actually_ book me for Chinese at _9pm?_ I know she means well but I genuinely want to strangle her right now."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "You said it best, kid." he flopped into Adrien's lap. "So, got any more cheese?'

"I swear if you ask _one more time_ -"

"Adrien?" Nathalie called from outside his door. "You've got-"

"YEAH, I KNOW!" He yelled back, resisting the urge to hiss. More calmly, he said in his most official voice, "Please kindly leave me be, Nathalie. I will be with you in a moment." He turned his eyes back down to see Plagg miming his father, affronted expression and all, and snorted.

"HA! Knew that would would get a smile out of you," Plagg snickered. "C'mon, kid, you've got to go to the picture-taking thingy before today ends. Let's go before my camembert goes off."

"Camembert doesn't go off, Plagg."

"That's because you don't have my delicate sensibilities!" His kwami retorted.

The argument lasted all the way to the limo with harsh whispers whenever nobody was looking.

* * *

"Pleeeeeease, Alya?" Marinette begged into the phone, one hand tucked around Manon so she couldn't escape and endanger herself. Again. "Just for today! I mean, you have all those siblings and you're always so outgoing so I hoped maybe-"

"Alright, girl, but you owe me big time. Does this mean I can finally tell Nino the goth dress story?" She inquired, sounding so eager that Marinette could hear her grinning over the phone.

Marinette gasped. "Alya, how dare you, you said you'd never tell!" She whined. Curse her and her big mouth! "Anything but _that_ , Alya."

"Anything?" Marinette could hear Alya wiggling her eyebrows from the other end of the call.

"Anything," Marinette caved.

"Then I want two scalding hot coffees and five of your parent's best croissants," Alya demanded. "And bring them to the park down the street from my place, _with_ the little troublemaker." Marinette groaned. "C'mon, girl. Let me chat with the little miss while you get ready."

With a bit of guilty relief, Marinette passed Manon off to Alya, the young girl immediately becoming enraptured in what was apparently a wild story about unicorn princesses and alternate dimensions. She dodged out to the kitchen just long enough to grab the frankly unhealthy spread that Alya had requested, pouring some of her father's _serious business_ coffee into a pair of travel mugs and stuffing several warmed croissants into a doggy bag. Sighing, she returned to the main room. "Manon?"

The girl peeked up from behind the couch, one ear still pressed to the phone. "Yea?"

"We're going to the park," Marinette said, bracing herself to grab the girl before she could barrel out the door without shoes. Manon dropped the phone and raced up to her, grabbing her leg firmly and refusing to let go.

Once Marinette had said goodbye to Alya and ended the call, she began to drag a rather unhelpful Manon to the park.

* * *

Adrien had one word to describe this photoshoot: _BORING._

It was plain and uninspired. The fountain was an okay touch, but there was no power in it, no movement, and he was forced to compensate by pulling ridiculous poses. He did _not_ have the energy for this today, and all he could think about just then was how jealous he was that Plagg got to take a cat-nap while he had to smile like his mother had just brought him spaghetti. (He _really_ wished the photographer would stop asking that. It never worked to make him smile.)

"Ugh, no, no, what kind of smile is _that?"_ the photographer growled. "Smile, Adrien, not scowl! Smooth the lines, keep a joyous expression! You'll give yourself wrinkles like that!"

What he needed, desperately, was a distraction.

The photographer glared at the most recent photo and threw up his hands. "I give up, take a break, maybe you will recover enough to give me a proper face afterwards."

Adrien tried not to look too relieved as he dropped away to find Plagg. It took him a few minutes, but he eventually found the little imp hiding in one of the prop cases. Digging the reluctant black feline from it, he gently dropped his friend into his pocket. "Sorry, Plagg," he whispered, "but I need the support, otherwise I am going to glare daggers into that camera and I'll have to do this all over again." Plagg shifted, curling up against him, and Adrien let out a soft sigh.

"Hey, look, it's Adrien. Hey! Adrien!" He turned around quickly, and found himself smiling for the first time that day.

Alya grinned at him, dragging Marinette and a small girl with her. The red-haired girl was making quick progress towards him, and the three girls were accompanied by something that smelled amazing. "Hello, Alya," he greeted her, "Marinette, and who's this?"

"Manon!" The little girl announced, still gripping tightly to Marinette's leg.

"Marinette and I are technically babysitting," Alya explained, grabbing Manon and swooping her up to sit on Alya's shoulder. "Marinette bribed me with croissants."

 _Ah, so that's where the heavenly smell is coming from,_ Adrien sighed. "Sounds tasty," he quipped. He blinked solidly to try and get the sleep out of his eyes and not his makeup.

Alya nodded firmly in agreement. "It is!" She paused at something the girl on her shoulder whispered in her ear, and whispered quietly back. "Right. Seems like the Unicorn Princess is needed by the carousel. I'll catch up with you two." That said, Alya vanished.

The silence lasted for a few moments between them. Marinette had two mugs of coffee in one hand and a bag of croissants in the other, and she was nipping her lip as if she wanted to say something. Finally, he couldn't take the silence. "Um, hello," he greeted her again. "H-how are you?"

 _Good going, Agreste. Can't even talk to a girl without stuttering._

"Oh, I'm good," she murmured shyly. "Alya's a godsend. How are you?"

"Tired," he replied immediately, long before his brain got there. "But, ah, also good. Good." _Curse me, curse my insured face, and curse my big mouth._

"Oh! Um, would you like some coffee?" She held out the two mugs.

Adrien felt his face rise before he'd even accepted. "May I?" He asked quietly, glancing briefly towards his photographer. His father would probably kill him if he found out Adrien was drinking coffee, but his father wasn't exactly here right now. Marinette nodded kindly, and he quickly took the mug off her hands, pulling in a sip while he was certain his watchers were preoccupied.

It was still warm edging towards hot, and it scalded his throat in a way he could approve of. It was strong, too, almost black, and he could already feel his eyes popping open. "Thank you," he sighed happily once he gave up trying to chug the whole thing in one go. "I needed that. I woke up too late for breakfast."

Marinette blinked, and Adrien cursed his mouth for the second time that day. It seemed to always want to yammer on when she was around. He felt almost self-conscious as she studied his face.

"Would you like a croissant?" She offered, holding up the doggy bag. It smelled like heaven on earth.

" _God_ yes." At her face, he revised, "I mean, um, yes please." _Curse me and my big goddamn mouth._

Marinette, bless her sweet-hearted soul, gave him one anyway. It crumbled slightly under his fingers, flaky yet soft like the best croissants always were. He bit some off and found himself smiling around it. Soft. Buttery. Just a hint of the subtle taste of bread, mixed with care until fluffy and sweet-

" _SUMMER'S OVER!"_ There was a _snap_ , and Adrien found himself on the ground, bowled over by a frigid wind. His croissant - and the angel-sweet Marinette - both fell to the ground. Marinette had a scrape on her arm. His croissant was unsalvageable. His coffee had spilled all over his shirt.

Adrien dropped his coffee and flipped over to see a girl wearing a thick purple skirt. Her face was painted a frankly alarming lavender purple, and most of her outfit was a darker purple which curled around her pigtails and covered her umbrella, no doubt the akuma.

Only Marinette being a few steps away stopped him from getting up and swearing up a storm. "C'mon, we've got to get out of here," he said instead, helping Marinette back to her feet. The two of them turned just in time to see the akumatized girl shoot a beam at the carousel, encasing it in ice.

"Alya and Manon," Marinette gasped softly, and he felt his already foul mood deepen. He knew it was just Hawkmoth taking advantage of someone, but he'd never wanted to punch someone quite that much before. "We can worry about them later," he said reluctantly. "We should get to safety first."

"R-right." She quickly glanced around. "Alya's parents should let us in, let's head that way." That said, she plucked up his hand and began running, sending a reluctant look as they left Alya and Manon behind.

* * *

She held Adrien's hand tightly, dragging him along as she led the way. She didn't have time to be polite about it. Thankfully, Adrien didn't seem to have a problem keeping up with her.

The Parisian streets were already abandoned, the routine practice for akumas at this point. It was unlucky that they were so close to the villain herself. Paris was unnaturally silent save for the slap of their shoes on the pavement, and the roaring background noise of a snowstorm in the distance. She pulled Adrien down a left turn, just in time for a blast of wind to race past them, overturning one of the cars.

Marinette winced as the car fell with a resounding _crash_. "Why is she following us?" She muttered to herself.

"I don't know," Adrien answered, letting go of her hand briefly to quicken his step and match her stride for stride. The two leaped apart when a ball of lightning shot down, dissipating with a sharp buzz.

"GET BACK HERE! YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE NEWS!" The maddened voice of the akuma called. Adrien shared a glance with Marinette, mirroring her worry-etched face. If they tried to hide with Alya's family now, they'd certainly be attacked.

Then Marinette's eyes turned further, and widened. Her hands went out and pushed him aside, throwing him off his feet and painfully into a bike rack. His eyes followed her gaze and he felt his breath hitch.

A frozen beam of power slammed down where Marinette stood.

* * *

A/N:

 _Oof_. I'm rereading the first chapters and I already want to rewrite them, but I'm going to barrel on because I am not going to get stuck on this this early in the writing. That said, writing a convincing AU Adrien is kind of hard because he's normally the Eternal Sunshine Boy (tm _)_. Tell me how you think I did.

Chose Stormy Weather to kick-start our standard issue AU stuff, since it's fairly early and has no direct connections to most of the plots points we need to hit later. I was going to start with Pharaoh but then I realized I'd already placed Lady Wifi before that on my mock-up timeline, so I picked this as my plan B. Hopefully it fits? I'm trying to do this in some semblance of order.

Next time on Marigolds and Catnip: Adrien Agreste Gets His Revenge

Sorry for the long author notes. I put them at the end so you can do a Hard Skip on these things.

Tumblrs to check out for more of this AU: thescuttlebugg, zoe-oneesama and kenechi-nor all inspired this AU heavily, as well as the scarlet lady AU tag!


	5. Stormy Weather 2

**STORMY WEATHER**

 _Part 2_

* * *

Adrien didn't care that he was risking himself. The moment ice began to creep around her he launched himself to his feet, ignoring the twinge in his back and focusing on Marinette. He could hear the akuma's laughter fading, he had to pursue her, but he needed to check on Marinette first.

She was watching him through the icy cage, and he banged a fist on it in a futile attempt to break it down. It bit into his fists and he gave up after a while, cradling his hand.

She shook her head and pointed down the road. _Get away from danger_ , he think she'd said, though she was silenced by the thick ice between them. Growling in frustration, he checked her over one last time before racing away and around a corner.

He pulled Plagg out of his pocket. The small black sprite was nibbling on some cheese, which he swallowed once he was dragged out.

No words were needed except, "Plagg, Claws Out!"

* * *

Chloe stood at the edge of her room's window, arms folded delicately to support her as she craned her neck cautiously out. The akuma, some black-hearted girl who was whipping up a horrible storm on the roof of the weather building, cackled loud enough for it to echo all the way to her.

"We need to go, Chloe!" Tikki cried, fluttering nervously at her shoulder. "Paris needs the Scarlet Lady's help!"

Chloe waved a hand. "Hardly. I'm waiting for Chat Noir to beat her up, then I'll go over and do my thing. They don't need me."

Tikki frowned. "But..." she sighed. "But Chloe, then Chat Noir will have all the credit." The words were sour on her mouth.

Chloe giggled. "Don't be silly, Tikki. Once he's finished, I just swoop in and then spend my extra five minutes answering questions. Chat Noir can't handle the press if he's running out of time after Cataclysm, you know." She shrugged. "All I have to do is tell them something which flatters me."

Tikki slammed a hand into her forehead. "If we _aren't_ going to battle," she hissed through clenched teeth, "can we at least go out to get some action pictures? We can't take those _post_ battle."

Chloe perked up. "That's true," she admitted. "Alright, alright." Taking a few steps back, she said, "Tikki, Spots on!"

* * *

Adrien was _angry_ when he arrived on the rooftop of the weather building. Climbing several hundred stairs at high speed, vaulting to the roof of the weather building, and dwelling on Marinette, trapped and probably getting frostbite, didn't exactly make him charitable.

" _There_ you are, Chat Noir!" She smiled widely, Hawkmoth's mask glowing over her face. "Stormy Weather has some bad news; the black cat's about to get an unlucky dose of acid rain!"

"Haha, _no."_ Adrien leaped higher than he thought himself capable, and swung out with one metal-toed boot. It hit home, slamming the akuma into the ground, and he landed on all fours, steadying himself and holding up his baton, ready to attack.

Stormy Weather growled at him as she leaped to her feet. "You won't stop me," she hissed. Supernatural snow gathered around her and bit harshly through the heat-proofing of his suit. "Not without Scarlet Lady!"

"Try me," he challenged through gritted teeth.

"If you say so, cat," Stormy Weather hissed, climbing to her feet and rising into the air once more. "but watch out; I predict a downpour right here, right now!"

* * *

Scarlet Lady leaped gracefully across the rooftops, her high heels clicking sharply against the concrete. Off in the distance, she could see a large, blackened cloud gathering over the weather station, occasionally sparking brightly and raining furiously onto the building's roof.

"I wonder how close I'll have to get for those action shots," she murmured to herself. "I mean, that much rain would _totally_ ruin my hair!"

" _No it won't,_ " her Kwami's voice piped up. " _Part of the magic. Your hair will be fine."_

She let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. I wonder how long it'll take that cat to defeat the akuma?"

" _Longer if you don't help,"_ her Kwami piped up again.

"Shut up, Tikki," Scarlet said absently. "I am _not_ chipping my nails today. I just got them done."

" _You're in a skintight body suit-"_

"And I don't care," she replied. "They can still chip. Ouch, that looked like a direct hit," she held up her yoyo and took a photo of the cat slamming into the railing. "Does he really think he can defeat her like that?"

* * *

"Any last words before we return to our scheduled program?" Stormy Weather hissed into his face. Her heel was digging painfully into his chest, her eyes searching him, most likely for the miraculous.

"Yes," He replied through clenched teeth. "You killed my croissant. Prepare to die."

He pressed down on his baton with his thumb and extended it right into her face.

* * *

"Ah, so that was his plan," Scarlet leaned back, as Stormy Weather was sent flying from a baton to the face. "good to know he isn't completely useless."

She pointedly ignored Tikki grumbling in her ear.

* * *

" _FINALLY!_ " Adrien thought. One well-placed Cataclysm had knocked one of the large advertising boards into the akuma's shoulder, knocking it from her hands. He raced towards it on all fours, taking advantage of the extra speed to slide in and snatch up the akuma's hiding spot. He snapped it, and with one last screech of fury, Stormy Weather fell to the ground and her corruption melted away.

A flash of red zoomed past him and snatched up the butterfly. He was so used to it by now that he didn't even complain about her not being there. "Scar, any chance you can help me with the victim here?"

"Sorry, catboy," she flicked her yoyo closed over the akuma, "but I have to go talk to the press." She threw her yoyo in the air, and in a blinding flash, a swarm of ladybugs flew past, fluttering around and filling in the damage. "There we go. See you!" She flung out her yoyo, and moments later she swung away off the rooftop, down to the horde of reporters below.

Adrien sighed. She'd probably fake a ton of it again - heaven knows she had before, seeing what sort of stuff aired on news sites he'd found - but soothing the akuma victim was far more important than his own reputation at the moment.

Chat Noir stepped carefully over to the girl. Her hair was now sunshine-blond, and her dress returned to a daylight blue. She definitely had the weather girl theme down. He knelt down next to her and folded in his knees as she looked around, confused. "How are you feeling?"

She threw her gaze towards him, then paled. "I... did I... oh god," she sucked in a breath. "What did I do?"

"Nothing Scar couldn't fix," he replied easily. "Just a bit of bad weather. Aurore Beauréal, am I right?" he held out a claw. "Chat Noir, at your service." At the beep from his ring, he added, "for the next four minutes, at least."

Despite her situation, Aurore let out a little laugh and returned the gesture, shaking his hand. "Sorry," she murmured, once their hands separated. "I didn't mean to, but..."

Adrien shrugged. "Don't sweat it. People get angry, it's just the nature of life. You couldn't have helped that."

Aurore glanced at her hands, and at the umbrella a few feet away, no longer broken or corrupted. "It's hard to remember that," she admitted. "I... almost don't want my umbrella any more. Even though it means so much to me."

"Hawkmoth always targets things of personal value," he explained, trotting over and picking it up. "Things that will remind you why you're angry, or sad. Here," he held it out to her. "Think of it this way; he's just shown you what you treasure. Now you know, you can do something about it. If your dream is to become a weather girl, go for it. Mireille might have won today, but that doesn't mean you can't win tomorrow."

Aurore's expression blanked, then morphed into a grin. "When you put it that way..." She snatched it up, and with a push she let it bloom over her head, twirling it in her hands. "Thanks, Chat Noir. I think I needed the pep talk."

Chat Noir grinned. "You're welcome." _Yep, this is why I like being a superhero._

A shrill beep rang between them. "Well, it seems Cinderella's carriage is about to become a pumpkin," he said regretfully. "I'll be keeping an eye out on the weather channels for you, Ms. Beauréal. Catch you later!"

He threw his baton forward and leaped away.

* * *

Adrien panted as he raced down the streets, ignoring the twinges of pain in his shoulders. He turned a corner to see Alya's front door and jumped up the steps two at a time, knocking on the door before he stopped to press his hands to his knees and catch his breath.

The door opened to admit a pretty, petite woman bearing a resemblance to Alya, save for the vibrant hair and glasses. "Excuse me, Mrs. Césaire," he panted, "But have you seen Marinette Dupain-Cheng? We were running from the akuma and she mentioned going to your house before she got trapped, and when I went back to check on her she wasn't there, so..."

"Ah, so you're Adrien!" Mrs. Césaire smiled. "Yes, Marinette is here. Come in, come in, you look dead on your feet," she ushered him inside.

The apartment was warm and homely. Adrien immediately caught sight of Marinette and Alya sitting on a set of bean bag chairs out near the balcony, curled up in thick blankets. Between them, Manon grinned a buck-toothed grin, bouncing up and down on a purple bean bag as she retold the tale to two young girls her own age.

"Adrien!" Alya waved. "Did you get away alright? Marinette says she got caged by the ice, were you?"

"Ah, uh, yeah," he confirmed nervously. "I was a few blocks away at that point, tried to lead it elsewhere but she caught up to me." He rubbed nervously at his neck and gathered himself. "Are you alright, Marinette?"

"Just fine!" Marinette confirmed cheerfully. She tugged the blankets around her off her shoulders and stood up, holding out one corner. "Come on, you must be cold if you got trapped as well."

Adrien cleared this throat. "Ah, um, are you, are you sure?" he smiled nervously. She nodded encouragingly, and his resolve crumbled. He accepted the blanket which she threw over his shoulders, and let her push him down onto the chair.

"Are you still cold?" She asked, leaning over towards him. She still smelled like a bakery, sweet and savory, and most of her words were muddling together in his head. Something about making hot chocolate. The haze didn't leave him until she'd wandered off into the kitchenette to help Alya's mother with something. He'd forgotten what she even called it.

He tugged the blankets closer around him.

A hand landed firmly on his shoulder, and he blinked when he noticed Alya shuffling over to talk to him. "So, Marinette, hmm?" she nudged him. He flushed. "Cute. A girl gives you a blanket and suddenly you're warmer than a furnace." She flipped one knee over the other and whispered in his ear. "Listen up, Agreste. Nino assures me you're more than just a pretty face, but I won't believe it until I see it for myself."

Alya glanced at the three little girls who were now dancing around each other in a fair reenactment of the most recent akuma battle. "I can tell you like Marinette-" He opened his mouth to retort, but she nudged up his chin to close his mouth for him. "- no talking - so now you're in my sphere. Be on your best behavior. And trust me when I say this... hurt a _hair_ on Marinette's head, and you won't have a body left to find." Alya hissed in his ear. "I see how you look at her, Agreste, so _watch it._ "

He shoved her away gently and curled further into the blanket. "It's not like that," he said firmly. "And I'd treat her nicely anyways, Alya. She deserves kindness."

"Uh huh, sure, keep telling yourself that," Alya replied blandly, examining her nails with exaggerated nonchalance. "Oh, by the way, Marinette's coming out of the kitchen."

Adrien's eyes flew up, but Marinette wasn't there. He could already hear Alya snickering at him. "it isn't funny," he whined.

"From over here it is," Alya cackled. "Oh, by the way, Marinette's behind you with some hot chocolate."

"I'm not falling for that _again_ -" Adrien protested, but fell silent when a mug was pressed into his hands.

"Not falling for what?" Marinette asked innocently. He looked up. How had he not noticed how blue her eyes were before?

When the silence stretched, he stuttered, "Uh, um, nothing! Nothing at all. Really." he sipped his hot chocolate.

He felt all the stress of the day immediately leave him. It was sweet and rich, chocolatey but with a hint of creaminess to it, like some kind of fondue, but so much better. He could feel himself sinking into the pink bean bag chair but he couldn't find it in himself to care. He cracked an eye open to see Alya smirking.

"Alya, stop wiggling your eyebrows."

* * *

A/N:

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Adrien is an angery kitten, and Chloe is as superficial and frustrating as usual. I'm laying it on thick with the Adrienette. Next time; Lady Wifi, featuring Marinette stop-stealing-phones-you-have-a-problem Dupain-Cheng.

Just so you know; I appreciate all the reviews I've been getting on this, it's what keeps me returning to write more! If you have any questions about this story, don't hesitate to ask; I love responding to reviews.

With that said, as an aside to the guest Mem: Thank you so much for the high praise! I'm glad you think of my character writing as likeable. (Poor Adrien and poor Tikki indeed!) Hopefully this chapter continues that trend!

Finally, I'm a bit under the weather at the moment, so the updates in the next few days might be a tad slow. I'll try to keep up the one-chapter-per-day thing I have going right now, but I can't make any promises. Sorry!


	6. Lady Wifi 1

**LADY WIFI**

 _Part 1_

* * *

If you asked Alya Césaire, the Ladyblog was the combination of three of her favourite things; live-blogging, news reporting, and superheroes. Marinette Dupain-Cheng heard about the Ladyblog every day, and as a result, barely checked it. Why should she, when she could get the details directly from the exuberant source?

But today was just a _little_ different.

* * *

"Marinette, wake up! You're going to be late for school!"

Marinette flopped forward in her bed and took a moment to realize what her mother had said. Yelping, she tumbled out of bed and flailed her way down the step-ladder in her room, leaping the last few to race for her closet. "I'll be there in a minute!" She called desperately, digging through her clothes for something that matched.

It took her three minutes to struggle into something presentable, two minutes to race down the stairs and secure her belongings, and about six minutes to run headlong towards the school, barely a precious minute before her first class. Leaping past, she bounded up the steps and almost ran headlong into Alya, who slipped to one side and followed her in, keeping pace as Marinette raced for the classroom.

"Girl, I have _so much_ to tell you," Alya gushed, dropping into her seat. "Guess which reporter finally got some Chat Noir footage?!"

Marinette rolled her eyes with a smile as she slid into her own seat. "Was it you?" she inquired, chuckling. "Alright, alright, show me."

Alya didn't need to be asked twice. Whipping out her phone, she began flicking through to her blog, the latest post being a video posted by Alya herself. Once she found it, she passed her phone back to Marinette, who tapped the play button to watch the replay of the action.

Marinette blinked as the boy on the screen began to move, swiftly leaping to one side to avoid an attack. He flipped over and scrambled to his feet, wide, catlike eyes flicking briefly towards the camera to stare at the viewer before returning to the akuma, his shoulders curling as he prepared himself for his next leap.

"Awesome, right?" Alya interrupted her train of thought as Chat leaped away again, metal boots kicking off the ground.

"Yeah..." Marinette agreed distractedly as the wavering footage refocused on the battle up on a building above. "He's pretty cool."

A hand slammed down on the table next to her. "Oh really," asked Chloe sarcastically, eyes peering down at Alya's screen disdainfully. "Hmph. Scarlet Lady's better."

Alya turned on her with a furious glare. "There's plenty of Scarlet Lady action shots on her twitter," she growled. "I'm probably one of the _first_ to get good video of Chat Noir."

"You call this _good_?" Chloe sneered. "It isn't even Quad HD."

"Not even Scarlet Lady's pictures are that high quality. You can hardly expect mine to be better." Alya countered.

Chloe sniffed. "I suppose I _can't_ expect any better from _you_ ," She huffed. Turning away, Chloe slipped down to the seats in front. "Adri-chou, tell them Scarlet Lady is better!" Chloe begged, clasping her hands in front of her. The blonde slumped forward to rest her elbows on top of Adrien's desk.

Adrien felt his face twitch as he tried to resist a scowl. Reaching out with one arm, he firmly pushed Chloe off his desk. "Sorry, Chloe, but I kind of prefer Chat Noir."

Chloe blinked at him. "But... but Scarlet Lady's the one who heals everything at the end of the battle!" Chloe leaned forward, one hand on the table to support her. "And she actually cares about the people, answering the questions people ask and reporting akumas so people can get to safety."

"That's a side effect, not a motive," Adrien muttered under his breath. Gathering himself, he replied, "I think I still prefer Chat Noir. He seems more serious about what he's doing."

"I don't know about that," Alya argued. "Just because she's a girly girl doesn't mean she isn't serious, Adrien." She nudged Marinette, who looked up from Alya's phone. "I bet Marinette could be a superheroine!"

After a moment, Adrien smiled widely. "You're right. Marinette would make an amazing superheroine." He determinedly ignored Nino kicking him under the table and mouthing _'besotted'_. He was a bit preoccupied watching Marinette's face light up with a smile.

"What about _me_ , Adrikins?" Chloe whined. "Wouldn't _I_ be a _fabulous_ superhero?"

"I _seriously_ doubt that," Alya muttered.

Chloe whipped around to glare at the redhead. "Nobody asked for _your_ opinion," She sniffed.

"Yeah, well, nobody asked for yours, either," Alya hissed. "But here we are."

For a tense moment, there was silence. Glancing between the two girls, Adrien decided to jump in before it could get worse. "Um, what about you, Marinette?" She blinked at him. "I mean, ah, which superhero's your favourite?"

Marinette paused to think. "Chat Noir," she decided after a beat, smiling down at the video in her hands. Alya was saying something in the background, but everything seemed far away while she was talking. "He was looking out for Mylene and me during Stoneheart, and Aurore from Ms. Mendeleiev's class said he took the time to talk to her after she got akumatized. He's kind and big-hearted, even if he isn't as visible."

Adrien furiously fought down a blush. Unfortunately, the moment was broken by Chloe's hiss.

"I could _too_ be a superhero!" She growled. "How dare you _bully_ me like this! I'll have you suspended!"

"Hah! I'd like to see you _try_ ," Alya replied fiercely. "C'mon, Marinette. We should go somewhere else to eat, Chloe's putting me off my lunch."

The two girls rose from their seats, Alya sliding past Marinette to give Chloe one last warning glare. Marinette glanced between them, finally seeming to decide it wasn't worth her time to intervene, instead stepping past to follow Alya.

Adrien caught sight of Chloe's outstretched foot moments before Marinette tripped forward, coffee, Alya's phone and all, and slammed into the ground.

Adrien rose immediately to help her. Coffee was spilled all over the floor and pooled beneath Marinette's hands, soaking into the knees of her pink jeans. Alya yelped as a bit of the beverage hit her back, and Chloe let out a wail, holding up a corner of her bright yellow jacket.

"How _dare_ you, Césaire!" she hissed, holding up the offending spot. "You did this to hurt me, didn't you?! Take away your _attack dog_ -" Chloe pointed at Marinette, who cringed away from her, "-and get out of my sight!"

Then her eyes caught sight of Alya's phone, sitting just a few inches away from her.

She swooped down and picked it up. "Ugh, is _this_ what you've been recording with? It isn't even the newest model." She held it precariously from its' ladybug charm.

"You give that back," Alya hissed. She was frozen between kneeling down to help Marinette and moving to grab back her phone.

Adrien focused back on Marinette. "Here," he offered, ready to help her up. She reached out and gently clasped his hand, and he desperately ignored the pleasant tingle it sent through him as he dragged her back up to her feet. "ah, are you alright? Do you, um, need some paper towels or, er, something to clean up the coffee?"

Marinette let go of his hand to brush down her knees and give him a blinding smile. "No, I'm alright," she replied. "I'll just see if there are any of those towels left in the science lab."

Adrien froze. In her ears were two small earrings, around the same size as Scarlet Lady's miraculous.

She glanced around, but both Alya and Chloe were gone. "Could you tell Mme. Bustier I'll be back?"

"Of course!" He agreed immediately, stepping aside to let her drift out of the classroom.

 _It couldn't be._ _Not sweet Marinette._

His eyes followed her out the classroom doors.

"Dude," Nino said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "you've got it _bad_."

* * *

"Chloe!" Tikki cried, the moment they were alone in the bathroom stall. Chloe was navigating Alya's phone, smirking in triumph when she found the camera. "That wasn't nice of you at all. People won't like you if you aren't kind to them."

"They don't _deserve_ my kindness," Chloe replied testily. "That Césaire girl was _asking_ for trouble, acting like that."

Tikki sighed. "It _was_ mean of her to say those things to you," she accepted, "but that doesn't mean that you can be cruel right back! And you were practically telling them you were Scarlet Lady! Didn't I tell you that if you tell or get discovered, you'll lose your powers?"

"I never _said_ I had superpowers, I just said I'd make a wonderful superhero," Chloe snapped. "I deserve to be recognized for how great I am. Now shush, I'm trying to figure out how this works."

Tikki fumed silently.

"Aha! There we go," Chloe tucked the phone into her bag. "Right, now hide. We're making a pit-stop at my locker."

* * *

The next morning seemed normal, save for the noted absence of Alya Césaire. Adrien tried to smile at Marinette, but he noted worriedly that she was still wearing the black earrings. Now that he knew they were there, he couldn't think of anything else.

"Dude, stop staring at her," Nino nudged him pointedly. "She'll notice."

Adrien forced himself to look forward. "Right, right." Nino just shook his head in exasperation. "Sorry, I didn't get enough sleep last night."

"Hey," Marinette's voice drifted down from the seat behind him, touched with concern, "Have either of you seen Alya?"

Adrien turned around. Sure enough, Alya wasn't in her usual seat. Normally, the girl would have been there right away, usually the person to drag Marinette into the classroom, moments before the bell.

"Now you mention it, I haven't," Nino agreed, frowning. Adrien shrugged apologetically for his own response, reluctantly turning back to the board.

Classes passed and Marinette became more concerned, occasionally checking her phone as if a message might pop up any second. However, her own device remained silent straight through past lunch and late into the day.

* * *

In the final class, Marinette went to extreme measures. While their teacher wasn't looking, she leaned forward, tapping Nino on the shoulder. Adrien squashed a moment of jealousy, instead tilting himself to cover their interaction.

"Hey, can I borrow your phone?" Marinette asked hopefully. "I've tried calling her but she won't respond. She might answer you, though."

Nino blinked. "Alright," he agreed. Careful not to hint at what he was doing, he passed her his phone. "Knock yourself out."

Marinette nodded firmly, and she retreated with Nino's phone in hand.

At that moment, the projector flicked to life unbidden. Adrien tensed as their professor flinched. _She didn't turn it on herself._

The projector displayed a live image of the principal. Mr. Damocles was watching someone offscreen. His eyes followed her as a girl walked onto the scene, her ombre hair and the familiar face under the mask leaving no secret as to who had been akumatized.

"Hello, everyone!" The akumatized Alya waved sardonically. "I'm Lady Wifi, revealer of the truth. For our first scoop, let me introduce you to Mr. Damocles, your principal." She turned a grim smile at him. " _So_ , Mr. Damocles. Is it true that you wrongfully suspended a student named Alya?"

At first, their principal opened his mouth to object. However, Alya's hands drifted to her phone, and he paled. Staring down at his desk, he admitted, "...yes. You're right."

Murmuring wavered through the classroom. Adrien felt guilt boiling in his gut; Chloe would have probably listened to him. _But then again, I didn't think she'd go this far, either._

Alya needled him further, but Adrien focused on her costume. After a few moments, he narrowed his eyes at her phone and the familiar ladybug charm. _So that's where the akuma is hiding._

"For my next scoop, I'll be taking you all to meet the girl hiding behind Scarlet Lady!" Alya waved, then flicked at her phone. A pink stop icon zoomed out and slammed into Mr. Damocles, and the man froze, an expression of shock plastered on his face. Turning back to the camera, she smiled in grim satisfaction. "Stay connected."

The video winked out.

After a beat of silence, Mme. Bustier cleared her throat. "Everyone, for your safety, please head home immediately." The room burst into motion as everyone began packing up and racing out. "Don't forget to read chapters four and five!" She called after the horde.

* * *

A/N:

Guys. _Guys_. I have been sick _all week_. This chapter gave me _so much trouble._ I wanted to put a lot more into it, but looking at it now, I think this episode is going to end up as a three-parter. With that said, Lady Wifi 1 is complete!

You know, I _cannot_ unhear how the French say 'Wifi'. I don't know why, but it sounds so _strange_ to me. Kind of odd, but I digress; Lady Wifi, despite the _weird_ pronunciation, was definitely one of my favourite episodes.

I forgot to last time, so let's pick this up again; this whole story was inspired heavily by the Scarlet Lady AU tag on tumblr, and several tumblr users who expanded it and fueled most of my ideas.

thescuttlebugg had the original idea. zoe-oneesama was one of the main users to expand it, and kenechi-nor made some incredible art of the AU - she made the cover art for the story! I greatly recommend checking them out!

Finally, I've started **a poll** which can be found on my profile asking about Marigold's superpowers. While I'm okay with continuing with the canon ( **Venom** ), I also have a few ideas for a more beneficial superpower, as I realize a lot of people didn't like how it went in canon. (also, just paralysis seems like a kind of... lame superpower? just saying.) So, the other options. **Swarm** would give her control of a crowd, _any_ crowd; a crowd of people, a crowd of akuma-influenced people, etcetera - if there's nothing available she's able to create a swarm of bees. It's my most solid idea so far. Or, if neither appeal to you, there's **Literally Anything Else.** Take your pick and vote on the poll, because whatever it comes out as will be what gets written.

Update: With a thankful nod to the reviewer Phony Princess (thank you for the help!), let me add a few things and clear some things up. You can find the poll at the top of my profile. Just click my username and look for the blue text which says 'vote'. I have considered giving Marigold a plant-based superpower - one of my earlier ideas was to give her the ability to rapidly grow plants or control them to do her bidding - but I wasn't certain how I would use this, and had a few more ideas for how I might use Swarm or Venom. As of this update, this has been added as an option in the poll, but be aware that I don't have ideas for how it could be used.


	7. Lady Wifi 2

**LADY WIFI**

 _Part 2_

* * *

Chat Noir leaped from building to building, metal-toed boots slamming a rhythm into the rooftops. Lady Wifi had been a bit quiet so far - her attack on Mr. Damocles had been just over an hour and a half ago, and she hadn't re-emerged since - but he didn't doubt that if she were going to act, it would be against Chloe.

 _So why are you going to Marinette's house instead?_ He asked himself, even as he slowed to hide behind a chimney across the street from the Patisserie. Heavenly smells floated up on the wind, and he found himself sighing and relaxing as he breathed in the pleasant scent.

He shook himself out of his reverie. _I just need to make absolutely sure,_ he reminded himself, turning around and opening up his baton. A panel slid aside to reveal the phone within, and he zoomed in on the window below.

Marinette was slumped in her chair, clicking her mouse every now and again. Hopping closer for a better angle, he peered in and noticed the familiar spotted background of the Ladyblog. The video of him was playing on repeat on the screen.

Fighting the urge to blush, he glanced around her room. Most of her room was a soft, pastel pink, but sequestered on her bed was a large black cat plush. He fought the urge to smile and instead turned the camera back to her.

"What _are_ you doing?"

Adrien spun on his heel and extended his baton in a battle-ready pose. After a tense moment of staring at Scarlet Lady, he narrowed his eyes. "What's it to you?"

"Tikki said you'd need competent backup, for... whatever the heck you're doing," she waved dismissively at the Patisserie. "something something akuma attack. Is there anything I need to be here for, or can I go do something else?" She pointed behind her. "Because I'm kind of busy."

Fighting down his irritation, Adrien instead whipped up an explanation. "This is Lady Wifi's best friend's home," he informed her. "I'm trying to see if I can catch her in person. So far I've just been seeing her on video feeds."

"Hmph," Scarlet huffed. "legwork. I'll leave that to you, I'm going home." That said, she unslung her yoyo, and after a careful moment of calculation, she swung across the street and out of sight.

"Thank god she didn't stick around," Adrien muttered to himself.

 _"You can say that again,"_ Plagg agreed. " _Don't look now, but seems like your girlfriend has a phone call._ "

Adrien crept up onto the balcony, holding his cat ears back so he could peek inside. Marinette had gotten up from her chair and grabbed a phone lying on her counter - Nino's phone.

The phone flashed brightly, and she let go of it in shock, dropping it to the floor. Another flash, and a sparkle of data, and Lady Wifi was floating in Marinette's room.

"Oooh no," Adrien murmured to himself, slinking forward. He felt the phantom sensation of his leather ears twitching, and the sounds faded into hearing range.

"-this isn't you, Alya," Marinette said soothingly, a slight waver in her tone.

"No, it isn't," Lady Wifi replied sharply. "Alya has been disconnected. It's Lady Wifi now." She raised Nino's phone, throwing and catching it with a satisfied smirk on her face. "And it seems like I called the right number... _Scarlet Lady._ "

Marinette blinked. "I'm not Scarlet Lady," she said blankly. "And that's Nino's phone, not mine."

Lady Wifi stopped tossing the phone and stared at it. "You have a problem," she announced.

"Hey!"

"-but that's not the point!" Alya hissed, dropping the phone and reaching out to grip Marinette's ears. "If you aren't Scarlet Lady, then what are _these?!_ "

Adrien drew in a sharp breath. _Her earrings._

Marinette's hands moved up and behind her ears, and the earrings fell out into Lady Wifi's hands. She grinned at them and held them open in her hand.

A few moments passed, and Lady Wifi's grin turned into a frown. Then, with a hiss of pain, she threw the earrings out the window with a frustrated shout and vanished in a flicker of blue light.

Adrien leaped swiftly down to the ground below, snatching up the earrings from the air and boosting himself back up to rooftop level with his baton. Earrings firmly secured in his clawed hand, he hopped up onto Marinette's balcony. Her pig-tailed head popped up a few moments later.

Adrien bent down at the knee and gracefully held out the earrings to his classmate. "I believe these fell from your tower, Princess," he winked, grinning at the soft blush which dusted her cheeks. Her hands reached out, and very gently, they landed on his and pulled up the earrings. She retreated immediately to put the earrings back in.

 _Pity I'm wearing gloves..._

"She didn't hurt you, did she?" He asked gently, once the silence got too long to bear. "No scrapes?"

She shook her head. "Nope. None," she paused. "Are you going after her?"

Adrien blinked. "Ah, yeah," he stammered. "I probably should, Princess. Just wanted to make sure I didn't miss a damsel in distress," he offered. "Any chance you know where she'd go next, my Lady?"

Marinette turned away, one hand trailing along the wisp of hair by her ear. "She's trying to find Scarlet Lady," she said thoughtfully. "She knows Scarlet's earrings are important, so she will probably go after the next person she knows who wears earrings." Marinette frowned. "You know, she was _convinced_ Chloe couldn't be Scarlet. Now that she knows I'm _not..._ "

"...she might start doubting herself and check!" Adrien grinned. "Brilliant! You're quite the smart cookie, aren't you?" He winked, fully enjoying her flustered wave-off. "Well then. I'm afraid I must bid you _adieu_ , my Lady, as I have two other Ladies chasing my tail. I'd rather not drag you into danger."

Marinette's mood did a one-eighty. "Oh no, no no no no. Don't you _dare_ go after Alya without me," she hissed, flicking at his bell. "She's _my_ friend, _I'm_ going to help her. You stay _right there_." That said, Marinette dropped back into her room, closing the skylight behind her.

Adrien blinked. "Wow," he murmured.

" _Going on an adventure with your girlfriend?"_ Plagg teased.

"She's not my girlfriend," Adrien hissed back under his breath.

" _Pfft. Yeah, right."_

* * *

Adrien was already halfway through jumping off Marinette's rooftop when slim arms twisted around his chest and gripped him tightly. He yelped, already airborne, and landed cautiously on the next rooftop to find Marinette glaring him down.

"What part of _Don't You Dare_ didn't you _hear?_ " She tapped her foot and held her arms on her sides, but all she managed to achieve was being hopelessly adorable. (It definitely _wasn't_ intimidating. Not at all. Nope.) "Stand still, kitty."

 _Kitty?_

Adrien only woke up from his thoughts in time to hear Marinette say, "Alright, I'm properly secured now. Let's go." She tightened her grip on his shoulders.

"Ah, uh, right, yes. Going." He pulled out his baton, careful not to jostle her too much, and began gently leaping from rooftop to rooftop, carefully _not_ focusing on the extra weight on his back.

 _"Kid, this is painful to listen to._ "

Adrien scowled at the fact that he couldn't shut Plagg up. Fortunately, they were already there.

Landing on the roof across from the building, he gently knelt down to allow Marinette to slide off his back. Once he was sure she was alright, he pulled up again and stretched. "I'm not going to drag you into an akuma battle," he said idly as Marinette's eyes scanned the windows.

"Yes you are," she replied without missing a beat. "There, look, the one with the tall windows and all the yellow." Marinette wrinkled her nose. "That colour is really tacky." Adrien nodded in agreement, settling down next to her in a catlike crouch. "Oh, look, there's Chloe."

Said childhood friend was indeed standing in front of her window, apparently talking to herself. Her head moved aside towards something on her desk, and Adrien heard Marinette gasp. "Move, move, move, we've got to get in there!" She hissed in his ear, grabbing him around the shoulders again.

"What? Ah, okay, hold on!" He whipped out his baton and lengthened it over to the other side. Leaping to his feet, he tested his balance before racing across, landing firmly on the other side and grabbing his baton once more.

The fire escape bent down around one side of the building, and Marinette slid off his back to run for it. Adrien leaped after her immediately, the pair of them matching stride as they leaped down the steps and past doorways.

"Here!" She pointed at one of the doors. Adrien leaped past her and kicked it down with one firm hit from his boot, running inside. Thankfully, the ornate doors of Chloe's room were already open, and Chloe's shrill voice was audible right out in the hallway.

"Unhand me _right now_ , you- you- _fiend_!" She screeched. Adrien raced through the door to see Lady Wifi hovering in the room, one hand on her phone.

He extended his baton and jabbed, knocking the phone out of Alya's hands. Lady Wifi yelled, leaping for it and clutching it to her chest. She whipped around and scowled.

"Chat Noir!" She hissed. "Hand over the Miraculous!"

Adrien tensed. "Never!" He shouted back. He pulled back his baton and dashed across the room. The moment he swung out, however, Alya vanished in a flicker of blue.

Adrien spun around and held out his baton defensively. Chloe, now that the threat was no longer visible, pulled herself back up and sneered. "What were you _doing_? She was _right there!_ "

"Shut up, Chloe," Marinette said absently, walking slowly around the room.

Adrien refused to take satisfaction from Chloe's offended gasp. "Princess, get over here before she pops up again!" He hissed under his breath. "it's dangerous!"

"I can handle myself," Marinette mumbled back, sparing him a reassuring glance. She then walked towards the middle of the room.

Then she tripped. A bright glow bloomed from her side and solidified as Lady Wifi, upside down. She promptly hit her head on the ground.

"Ow!" Lady Wifi flickered, but snapped upright and away from Marinette. Belatedly, Adrien realized she'd tried to grab Lady Wifi's phone. "What the heck?! I thought I called _Chloe's_ phone!"

Marinette held up a lurid yellow phone and stuck out her tongue.

 _Merde, that's cute,_ Adrien thought. Then he realized Marinette was deliberately taunting an akuma.

He pounced, grabbing Marinette tightly with both arms and racing out the door, listening to Lady Wifi's outraged shriek with one ear and Marinette's angry protests with the other.

Leaping down a staircase in one bound, he chanced a glance behind them and sighed in relief when nobody appeared to be following them. He gently let down Marinette, quickly checking her over for injuries.

Marinette was staring up at him defiantly, a small pout on her face. "I didn't need saving," she said firmly, crossing her arms. "I had everything under control."

Adrien frowned. "But Princess, it's my duty to protect-"

The rest of his thought was cut off by a bright blue flash and a pink glow barely missing his face. Marinette launched forward and grabbed his hand, and the pair of them began racing down the stairs. Pink buttons popped up between them or in front of them now and again, locking doors and exploding into voxels which vanished seconds later. Lady Wifi was angrily shouting something, but he couldn't hear it.

"You've got to let go of Chloe's phone," he commented, one arm jutting forward to grab it off her. She huffed. "She's going to catch up otherwise, and all this running will be wasted."

Marinette groaned but handed him the phone, which he tossed to the ground. One arm swooping under the crook of her knees, he swiped her up, grinning at her indignant yelp. "Your carriage has arrived, Princess!" He laughed, leaping down the stairs in a single bound. "Where does my Lady wish to go?"

Marinette frowned. "Dining room, second floor," she ordered. "We can regroup there."

* * *

A/N:

I kept having to revise this chapter because it is _so tempting_ to just call Scarlet Ladybug. If I missed one, don't hesitate to tell me!

Next time on Marigolds and Catnip: Oh no, feat. Reverse Love Square

The other day I was looking around at MLB fanfiction and read one I liked, and it took me a while to notice that it was actually _my own fanfiction._ I didn't even remember writing it. On the plus side, I did enjoy the fic, so I can give my former self two thumbs up for once.

As far as the poll...

I had a few ideas, so I've remade the poll - even if you've voted before, I'd really appreciate hearing from you again! It will close after I finish writing Lady Wifi, maybe after Pharaoh if I don't feel ready to make the final call. Your choices are **Swarm** , a power over any one group; **Honeycomb,** a power which allows Marigold to build temporary shields, weapons, or structures using a honey-like material; **Sting** , which is basically Venom on a larger scale, and finally **Flora** , a plant-based power which will _probably_ allow Marigold to animate plants or create plant-based obstacles, with limitations. "Vote Now!" and all that.

Last but not least; this whole story wouldn't be possible without the inspiration and hard work from thescuttlebugg, zoe-oneesama, and kenechi-nor on tumblr. They came up with the idea, expanded it, and made art for it, and I wouldn't be writing this without them to inspire me. I highly recommend checking them out!


	8. Lady Wifi 3

**LADY WIFI**

 _Part 3_

* * *

The dining hall was decorated lavishly in rich reds and swooping gold. The tables were covered in flimsy, embroidered cloth, and chandeliers were dotted around the ceiling around a domed skylight. It was, in a word, opulent.

Adrien gently let Marinette back down. Coming down from the high of the chase, Adrien found his heart stuttering as she began a determined march, casting one eye behind her to check he was there. "Right," she stormed forward and shucked over a table, balancing it on its side. "Help me build some barricades."

Adrien blinked. "Why?" He asked, moving carefully along the other side of the room and gently overturning tables. Marinette had a laser-eye focus on whatever she was doing, so he wasn't about to argue.

"Alya's aggressive," Marinette replied shortly. "or, at least, proactive. I bet you that she'll be back pretty soon." She tossed Chloe's phone onto one of the tables, and after a moment of deliberation, added her own and Nino's to the mix. "Here we go. That looks like enough. Get behind the barricades!"

Adrien didn't waste time. Snatching her up by the waist, he dragged her behind one of the overturned tables and sneaked a glance out.

A few moments later, a blue sparkle fizzed in the air, and Lady Wifi appeared above the central table, casting a sharp eye around the room. He ducked back in.

"What's the plan, Princess?" He asked, one hand held on his baton and the other being shoved away by Marinette. "As much as I adore your company, I'm afraid this feline can't stay all night."

Marinette breathed out a shaky sigh. "Not sure, to be honest. I was mostly hoping we'd be able to confuse her, grab her phone on the way past." She shrugged. "You seem agile enough to dodge in and out, so..."

"Better than just running at her," Adrien agreed fervently. He'd learned not to do that when rushing at Stoneheart had nearly given him a concussion. "Alright, let's see if this works."

He wound himself up and leaped, dashing from one barricade to the next. A pink stop button slammed out and hit the table with a _ping_ , but thankfully he was left unmarked. He jumped past again, leaping by, and then turned to launch himself past her.

Claws raked past, snatching forwards. Lady Wifi cursed and vanished, reappearing with a yelp in the same spot. She growled as Chat Noir fell behind another table. "Get out here and fight!" She called, "Scaredy-cat!"

Adrien was halfway through a smart retort when Alya screeched, and he peeked over the edge to see Marinette on the blogger's back, one hand around Lady Wifi's wrist. The girl vanished, and Marinette dropped to the ground, throwing herself over and behind a table before Wifi reappeared in the center of the room. The akumatized girl let out a growl of frustration at finding herself in the same place again.

Adrien hopped past and slid in next to Marinette. "That's one heck of a caterwaul she let out," he offered quietly. "your plan seems to be working."

"Yeah, but she's already called two of the three phones," she hissed back. "One more teleport and she'll have called all the phones we have. Once she does that she'll know what numbers to call to get out, and we'll be back to square one." She bit her lip. "Think you can distract her? I'll make a grab for her phone."

"Are you sure that's safe, Princess?" Adrien replied, flinching at Marinette's flat look. "Right. Um. I'll just. Be over there. Being distracting." He shuffled away, tail flicking nervously. Marinette rolled her eyes at him, but smiled, which he counted as a victory.

He leaped past Alya once more, a bit too far away to grab for her phone, but enough that she noticed him when he stopped in front of her. Bouncing off to the side as a flurry of pink blurred out at him, he smirked as confidently as he could. "You can't trip me up, you know!" He called, leaping onto one of the few tables still standing. "After all, cats always land on their feet!"

"Shut up, Chat Noir!" Alya hissed, phone held like a gun. She crossed out all the symbols on her screen. "Your luck's got to run out eventually!"

"Not if I cross you first~!" He cackled, jumping away as another button was thrown out at him. He paused at the other side of the room, ducking under a pink projectile. "Can't _cat_ ch me!"

Alya let out a wordless shout.

Out from behind her, Marinette _pounced_ , both hands forward. Her hands landed around Alya's phone, and she pulled, bringing her friend down to the ground with a yelp. Lady Wifi yelled and flicked at her phone.

A pause button bloomed in front of Marinette, freezing her in place. Adrien's heart stopped.

Fortunately, it had time to restart before Lady Wifi vanished, as she was still standing, tugging valiantly at her phone. However, it was trapped in the grip of Marinette's frozen hands, her face set into her determined glare.

Adrien sauntered forward, leaning on his baton as Alya tugged sharply. "Cat got your tongue?" He asked, voice flat. "Or in this case, phone?" He flexed his claws. "Cataclysm."

The dark energy pooled around his fingers willingly, bouncing around his knuckles eagerly. For a moment, he felt the urge to tear down the girl who had harmed his Princess, but he fought it off with a familiar ease, instead focusing on the phone. Lady Wifi glared at him, but there was little she could do without the phone in her hands; His hand tapped almost delicately against the phone case, watching dispassionately as the phone dissolved into purple-etched dust.

The akuma was left behind, scattering the dust of the phone as Lady Wifi's transformation fell away, melting down. Marinette yelped as she started up again, almost falling over, and Adrien threw out one arm to capture her up, hauling her back to her feet.

"The akuma," she reminded him. Adrien pulled back like he'd been shocked and quickly located the fluttering butterfly. He whipped his hand out and grabbed it from the air, holding it delicately between his claws. "I... um, thank you," she offered, smiling at him.

 _Oh_ , he thought. "You're welcome, Princess," he replied absently, blinking slowly. "I, ah, appreciate the help. A lot. Thank _you_."

Marinette giggled, turning away with a bashful blush, murmuring something even his enhanced hearing couldn't fully catch. Remembering the akuma between his clawed fingers, he straightened and began to text Scarlet on his baton, one eye dodging over to her every now and again as she sat down next to Alya, one hand patting her back as the blogger returned to her senses.

Adrien couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when Scarlet texted back a location. "I'm afraid I must be off, Princess," he said regretfully. He dipped into a low bow. "Until next time."

He turned and pulled the window open, leaping away.

* * *

Alya immediately snatched up her phone when, in a swarm of ladybugs, it reappeared.

"C'mon, please, please, please..." she muttered, grinning in triumph when she found the photos she'd never taken. Marinette shuffled in closer.

"What's that?" She asked, as Alya dug through her pictures.

"Date and time taken," she replied smugly, flicking through the photos and bringing each time up. "With this, I can prove that I was elsewhere when these were taken by the lockers!" She pulled Marinette into a hug. "Thanks for helping me out, girl."

"Anytime," Marinette replied cheerfully, hugging her friend back.

When they separated, Alya grinned. "On the subject of superheroes," she began, "what's all this about 'Princess'?"

Marinette flushed. "Alya!" She scolded. "It's not like that. He's just being sweet."

"Sweet, you say," Alya wiggled her eyebrows. "I don't know, Marinette, did he call Chloe a Princess?"

"Well, I mean," Marinette shrugged noncommittally, eyes flicking away. "he probably doesn't mean anything by it."

Alya flicked Marinette's cheek. "Girl!" She whisper-shouted. "He totally has the hots for you!"

"He doesn't!" Marinette retorted, but Alya smirked devilishly at the bright flush on her friend's cheeks.

 _The plot thickens,_ she mused, internally cackling. _Who will win?_ "So~," Alya flopped against her friend as they gathered themselves up. "was he hot? Give me the deets, girl!"

"ALYA!"

* * *

Adrien grinned quietly behind one hand when Alya burst into the room the next morning, looking even more energetic than usual. She practically hopped past him, sliding into her seat and whipping out her phone with a wicked smile.

Marinette raced into the room mere minutes before the class began, joining Alya at her bench. Adrien frowned. Something was different...

"Guess who managed to retrieve footage from the POV of an akuma!" Alya cheered, bouncing in her seat as Marinette slid in next to her. "I can't believe it stuck around after Scarlet Lady's miraculous cure!"

"That's amazing!" Marinette agreed cheerfully. She slid in closer. "Can I see?"

Alya's grin took on a sly tone. "Are you just trying to get another look at Chat Noir, _Princess?_ " She teased.

"Of course not!" Marinette protested feebly. "I just... wanted to see, is all." She snatched up Alya's phone.

"Don't lie, girl!" Alya continued, unbothered as she watched over Marinette's shoulder. "Don't think I didn't notice the new hair ties."

 _That_ was what was different! Adrien resisted the urge to smirk at the black hair bands. He _knew_ something had changed!

"T-that's not it!" Marinette shoved her friend away irritably. "I just thought it was time for a-a change, y'know?"

"Of course," Alya rolled her eyes. "You're definitely not wearing it because it's Chat Noir's colour, not at all."

"Alya!" Marinette whined.

Adrien's mind was miles away. Why was his face so warm? And why was he feeling so jealous and confused?

"Dude? You still in there?" Nino waved his hand in front of his face. "I know Marinette's cute and all, but you need to get your head in the game, man."

 _Oh._

"I get that you've got this insane crush you refuse to recognize," he added more quietly, "but if you keep staring at her and gaping like that she's going to think you're a creep."

 _Oh no._

"Bro?"

"Nino," Adrien whispered back, feeling remarkably calm and on the verge of panicking at the same time, "I think I'm in love."

* * *

A/N:

With the Love Square officially established, I can now move on to your regularly scheduled Adrienette. (Pity, I liked writing Marichat...)

I've been saving some of these lines since Halloween. I wish I'd been able to update more often but real life doesn't agree with me.

Poll is still up, for those of you who've just arrived or who have yet to vote! Currently, the options are;

 **Swarm** \- Allows Marinette to control a crowd or group. Alternatively, this would conjure up a set of bee-allies for her to direct.

 **Flora** \- A plant-based power. At the moment, it will _probably_ let her A) Animate plants to help her fight or defend or B) Create plant-based obstacles/objects.

 **Honeycomb** \- A power which allows her to build a honey-based shield, weapon or structure.

 **Sting _-_** A power similar to Venom, which allows Marinette to paralyze anyone hit by her attack. (they would still be able to speak and look around, but they would be unable to move.)

Vote should finish pretty soon, but keeping it up for now.

Finally, as always, this story wouldn't be possible without the inspiration from tumblr and the 'scarlet lady AU' tag. The three tumblrs in question who inspired me most are thescuttlebugg, who had the original idea; zoe-oneesama, who wrote a lot of headcanons and general ideas; and finally kenechi-nor, who made some amazing art for the AU (including the cover)! I highly advise checking them out!

Until next time! (As for your hint: Who's ready for a history lesson?)


	9. The Pharaoh 1

**THE PHARAOH**

 _Part 1_

* * *

The rising sun gleamed in the spotless sky on a bright, blue morning, winking down on the Louvre's plaza and the scattered people below. Forging through the crowd, Alya had one hand on her phone and another gripping her best friend's arm. Today, she was a woman on a mission, and no crowd of tourists was going to stop her.

"Alya," Marinette whined, tugging her arm away and shaking it lightly. "slow down! You're going to pull my arm off!"

"Then speed up!" Alya retorted. "I thought you'd be excited for this, girl! Chat Noir might be there!"

Marinette blushed furiously. "They didn't say he'd be here," she pointed out, nonetheless hurrying after Alya. "just Scarlet Lady."

Alya nudged her in the shoulder. "Hey, let me have my fun," she groused. "She's a superhero, Marinette! A real life superhero!"

"So's Chat Noir, and I don't see you gushing over him," Marinette replied, one hand idly fiddling with the black ribbons tying up her twintails. "I bet you're just here for the exhibit they made about former superheroes."

Alya shrugged. "Hey, what can I say?" she pulled out her phone and quickly brought up the Ladyblog. "I've always loved superheroes. This is just a chance to meet one in real life!"

The pair of them slid past a large, chattering group of tourists to see a large stage. Up front, Scarlet Lady lounged in a large, cushioned chair, chatting happily away with a reporter on the other side. A pile of reporters were angling cameras towards her, and there was even a hovering drone above, being flown around with its camera focused on the Louvre below.

Marinette almost stumbled as Alya abruptly let go of her hand, racing forwards and splitting the crowd. "Catch up with me, I'm going up front!" Alya called back, before vanishing into the mob.

Marinette stopped at the edge of the gathered sightseers, standing on her tip-toes to peek over the heads of the people in front of her. Scarlet Lady chattered on — now about her attack on Stoneheart — and she frowned.

 _Why is she saying that?_ she wondered, stepping away slightly. _She wasn't even there until the end._ Shaking her head lightly, she turned away and began heading for the less crowded side of the museum. Silently apologizing to Alya for abandoning the superhero exhibit, she slipped away towards the ancient Egyptian display.

* * *

Adrien yawned, stretching to try and get rid of the dull ache in his shoulders. A late-night akuma had been quickly cured the day before, but not before he took a hit to the back which twinged even after the miraculous cure. "Why are we here again?" He asked his bag.

"We're looking for something," Plagg said evasively. His Kwami briefly peeked out of his bag. "Ancient Egypt exhibit. Tell me when we get there." That said, Plagg dove back in, and the faint sound of Plagg swallowing a lump of cheese could be heard.

Shaking his head in fond exasperation, Adrien stepped in and stopped short at a familiar pigtails.

Unfortunately, he'd been heard. Marinette turned towards him, and she smiled and waved at him. He belatedly realized he wasn't moving and awkwardly waved back, breathing a sigh of relief when her eyes turned back to the papyrus in front of her.

Adrien carefully moved around the room, casting his gaze idly over the artifacts with half his head and the other half keeping precise track of where Marinette was in the room. Somehow, when she was around, all his years of modelling and most of his brain failed him.

He was so distracted, actually, that he barely noticed when she walked up next to him. "What are you looking at?"

"Ahh," he quickly glanced over what was in front of him. "Artifacts!"

She giggled behind one hand. "I can see that," she said, voice thick with amusement. Her bluebell eyes glanced over the paper, and froze. "That's a weird symbol," she pointed.

Adrien glanced over at it. Sitting among the eagles and eyes and blocky people was something that looked... kind of like his miraculous.

"Looks like a ring," he replied, carefully hiding his hand behind his back. "What do you think?"

Marinette tilted her head. "You're right, it does look like a ring," she agreed.

"It's said to be a powerful artifact," a third voice said.

The two teenagers were startled out of their reverie. Adrien hid a hiss of surprise at the older man; he was clearly an employee. "Sorry, we didn't see you there," he apologized. "Who are you?"

"Jalil Kubdel, I'm studying the artifacts here," He introduced himself. "I recognize you, you're Marinette, right? I'm Alix's brother. And you are?" He asked of Adrien, adjusting his glasses.

"Adrien," Adrien offered politely, shaking the man's free hand. The other was stuffed with documents that looked hectic and disorganized. "What were you saying?"

"Oh!" Jalil pointed. "That ring supposedly belonged to Apep, the Egyptian god of destruction. It was the source of his power, according to this text." He drew his hand along the glass, pointing to different parts of the papyrus. "Though, we're still translating this one. The abundance of cat symbols is causing a lot of confusion, especially due to the different dialect."

Adrien felt his breath hitch. _Cat symbols...? Destruction?_

"Sounds like Chat Noir," Marinette said, in an echo of his own thoughts.

"I thought that, too!" Jalil agreed, so enthusiastically he had to scramble to stop his papers falling from his hands. "Unfortunately, father doesn't agree with me. I'm sure if I could get a closer look, I'd be able to translate it, though." He frowned at the glass obscuring his view.

"Maybe you just need to present your theory the right way?" Marinette suggested kindly. "He's probably just worried that the papyrus will get damaged."

"You're right!" Jalil smiled at her. The sound of sharp footsteps distracted him. "Oh, that might be him now! I'm going to go ask!" He raced off in a hurry, yelling, "I hope you enjoy the exhibit!"

"He was enthusiastic," Marinette commented, once the man had faded out of sight. "I hope he gets the chance to decipher the papyrus."

"Me too," Adrien agreed. "so, um, what brings you here?"

Marinette sighed. "Alya dragged me here to see the superhero exhibit, but I lost her in the crowd," She shook her head in fond exasperation. "I saw Scarlet Lady up on the stage, but it was so crowded that I decided I wouldn't bother. Chat Noir is more interesting, anyways."

Adrien gulped. "Chat Noir?" He probed, as casually as he could.

"Yeah, he's-"

 _BOOM._

The explosion rocketed out from the large hall opening into the exhibit, and before he'd even had the thought Marinette had grabbed his hand and started running. "Move, move, move!" She yelled, jump-starting his brain into high gear. He was following her out of the room before he even thought about doing it.

"Where are we going?!" He yelped, stumbling after her.

Marinette didn't answer. Practically throwing him around a corner, she leaped after him, dragging him behind an exhibit. Her arm flung out and pressed him into the stone.

Adrien gulped.

Loud footsteps rang behind them. Marinette leaned outwards, and Adrien stared at her neck while trying to calm down.

"There's... what looks like a gold pharaoh," Marinette whispered. Her eyes darted around the room. There was a loud crash of shattering glass, and Adrien flinched into Marinette's side. "any ideas?"

"Um," Adrien gulped. "Get out of here before he notices us?"

She sent him a flat look.

"Sorry," he added, sheepish. "Look, we should really-"

A black marble foot was followed by a golden ankle which landed behind them.

Marinette turned around and paled, grabbing Adrien's hand and pulling them both to their feet.

"A pure heart," The akuma muttered, gold-etched face staring down at the two of them. "One of you should do... but which?"

Marinette reached into her bag. In a whiplash-fast motion, she pulled out... a textbook?... and threw it at the akuma's face.

It actually caused the akuma to stumble, cursing in a tongue Adrien presumed was Egyptian. Presumed, because he didn't have time to analyze it; Marinette had already dragged him around the corner and up a stairway.

Running after her, he followed up to the exit. The crowd was still there, though Scarlet was long gone. "AKUMA!" Marinette yelled, loud enough for the whole square to hear. "SCATTER!"

It took a few seconds - and a loud crash from within the Louvre - for people to move, but once they did, it became business as usual. Enough akumas happened on a regular basis that people had started learning how to evacuate, and the two of them were swiftly herded to the doors.

"I'm going to need a new textbook," Marinette muttered to herself, following the crowd. "Are you alright, Adrien?"

Adrien pulled himself together. "I'm fine!" He blurted. "I, um, I have to go," he said quickly, reluctantly letting go of her hand. "Bye! Stay safe!"

"Wait, Adri-" The rest of her words were drowned out by the shouting and stomping of the crowd, and people wove between them, seeking the exit. Sighing in regret, Adrien turned away towards the bathrooms.

He slid into one of the empty stalls unnoticed and opened his bag. Plagg zoomed out, camembert in paw, and ate it in one bite.

Adrien smiled. "Plagg, Claws Out!"

* * *

A/N:

Listened to 'Walk Like an Egyptian'. It's incredible, you should definitely look it up.

My Egyptology phase may be long over, but the falsehoods in the English translation of 'The Pharaoh' really hurt, so I may have... massively edited... Jalil's reasoning, transformations, powers, etcetera, with more than five minutes research to back it up. This is part of why this chapter took so long.

Voting's over! Thanks for all your input, everyone. A superpower has been picked, and I'm currently sketching a few ideas for it so that I actually know what I'm doing when Marigold finally shows up! (On the subject, sorry it's taking so long for Marigold to make an appearance, but I _do_ have a plan for all this. She'll show up soon enough, don't worry.)

This whole story was inspired by the _scarlet lady au_ tag on tumblr! More specifically, the idea was originally created by thescuttlebugg, and was expanded a lot by zoe-oneesama and some amazing art (including the cover!) was made by kenechi-nor! I highly suggest checking them out.


End file.
